Today, one of the most significant matches in Georgian basketball history will be held at Tbilisi Arena. The Georgian national team will host Denmark. The contest starts at 20:50 local time, with live coverage provided by GPB First Channel, First Channel Sport, and Radio Georgia.

Georgia’s national team is very close to qualifying for their sixth EuroBasket. Coach Aleksandar Džikić’s squad must defeat Denmark to secure their place in the European Championship. Even a one-point victory would be sufficient.

Georgia

Head coach Aleksandar Džikić has gathered the optimal roster for this crucial moment – EuroLeague players Kamar Baldwin from Spanish Baskonia and Tornike Shengelia from Italian Virtus have joined the team. NBA players are not released during mid-season, but Goga Bitadze and Sandro Mamukelashvili will join the team in August if Georgia qualifies for EuroBasket.

“The team has prepared well for the Denmark match. However, we cannot approach this game as favourites – Denmark is also a strong team, and we need maximum focus to defeat them. I hope the fans will support us as they did in previous matches,” the national team coach said in his opening remarks.

Denmark

If Denmark wins, they will also need to win their final match against Finland in the Scandinavian derby to qualify for EuroBasket. Therefore, the Danes are preparing for victory and have collected their optimal roster. Denmark has managed to bring Shavon Shields to the national team for the first time since 2017.

Aleksandar Džikić’s main concern will be neutralizing Shields and another European star, Iffe Lundberg – much will depend on these two players.

Danish National Team: Bakari Dibba (Heidelberg, Germany), Iffe Lundberg (Partizan, Serbia), Marcus Møller (Unicaja, Spain), Sylvester Berg, Darko Jukic (both – Bakken Bears), Jonas Zohore (Šiauliai, Lithuania), Liam Churchill (Horsens), Mads Bonde (Gipuzkoa, Spain), Kevin Larsen (Alicante, Spain), Frederik Drejer, Tobias Jensen (both – Ulm, Germany), Gustav Knudsen (Charleroi, Belgium), Shavon Shields (Milan, Italy).

As a reminder, in the first match in Næstved, the Danish national team defeated Georgia 75:69.